Running is a great way to work on your cardiovascular health and to maintain your overall level of fitness but is associated with several types of injuries.
Some of the most common running injuries we see here are:
- Shin Splints
- Pain in the front or sides of your shins
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- Pain in the front of the knee from your kneecap tracking improperly
- IT Band Friction Syndrome
- Pain on the outside of your knee from overuse
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Pain on the bottom of your foot from tightening of the plantar fascia
- Ankle Sprains
- Pain in the ankles from either instability or trauma during a run
Most of these injuries are caused by overuse with running. There are ways to avoid these types of injuries including:
- Varying your mileage with each run
- Varying the intensity of your runs (different paces)
- Varying the surface on which you run (trails, asphalt, treadmill, track)
- Increasing your mileage by no more that 10% per week
- Taking recovery days to work on lower extremity and core strength
- Doing dynamic warm-ups BEFORE every single run
- Doing static stretching after your runs
Listening to your body and seeking help with you have pain
It is very important to keep your body guessing with your workouts so that you continue to improve with your level of fitness and also prevent these overuse injuries from developing.
If you are having pain while running, do not ignore it or it can become chronic and become much more difficult to rehabilitate. Give us a call if you are having pain or think you may be at risk for developing any of the above listed running-related injuries. 703-450-4300
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